This book provides specialists and executives with a clear, yet practical set of recommendations to meet the challenges of digital transformation and ensure long-term success as a leader in a primarily digital business world. The authors describe the fundamental principles of digitization and its economic opportunities and risks, integrating them into a framework of classic and new management methods. The book also explores how increasing digitization – not only of communication, but of complete value chains – has led to a need to establish a digital business leadership. Digitization is changing people and markets: it causes the upheaval of entire industries, creates new digital-centric companies, and forces established companies to cope with the transformation activities associated with these digitization processes. New approaches and methods have to be learned, tried and tested patterns of thinking have to be explored, and last but not least, innovation activities have to be understood as continuous necessities. At the same time, digital business offers considerable opportunities for renewing competitive advantages, improving existing process structures and realigning products, services and business models.

Prof. Dr. Ralf T. Kreutzer has been a Professor of Marketing at the Berlin School of Economics and Law. In addition, he works as a marketing and management consultant, trainer, and coach. He previously worked for 15 years in various management positions at Bertelsmann, Volkswagen and Deutsche Post. Through regular publications and presentations Professor Kreutzer has spread considerable impulses concerning various topics related to marketing, dialogue marketing, CRM / loyalty programs, database marketing, online marketing, digital darwinism, strategic and international marketing. He advised a variety of enterprises nationally and abroad in these fields and trained/coached managers at middle and top management level. Professor Kreutzer is a frequent keynote speaker at national and international conferences. His recent book publications include “Kundenclubs & More“ (2004), “Marketing Excellence“ (2007), “Die neue Macht des Marketing” (2008), “Praxisorientiertes Dialog-Marketing” (2009), “Praxisorientiertes Marketing” (4th Edition, 2013), “Praxisorientiertes Online Marketing” (2. Auflage, 2014), “Digital Darwinism“ (2014, together with Karl-Heinz Land), “B2B-Online-Marketing und Social Media (2015, together with Andrea Rumler and Benjamin Wille-Baumkauff), “Dematerialisierung – Die Neuverteilung der Welt” (2015, together with Karl-Heinz Land), “Digitaler Darwinismus – Der stille Angriff auf Ihr Geschäftsmodell und Ihre Marke” (2nd Edition, 2016, together with Karl-Heinz Land) and “Kundenbeziehungsmanagement in digitalen Zeitalter” (2016).

Prof. Dr. Annette Pattloch has been a Professor of Marketing at the Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin since 2005. After studying Information Science at the University of the Saarland and at Rutgers University in the US, she has been working in the industry for more than ten years, most recently in a consulting firm as department manager for customer relationship management systems at the Volkswagen subsidiary gedas. Her focus in research and teaching lies on brand management and services marketing.

Tim Neugebauer is co-founder and CEO of DMK E-BUSINESS GmbH. The business graduate is responsible for managing the areas of strategy, consulting and marketing / sales. As Senior Digital Business Consultant he also leads the digital consulting unit DMK INNOVATIONS, where he is actively involved in the digital management and strategy consulting for group companies, public institutions and SMEs. The main topics are: digital transformation, digital business leadership, agility, user centralization, and questions concerning dual organizational principles. Since 2012 Tim Neugebauer has also been spokesman of the forum "Digital Business" in association with SIBB eV - ICT & Digital Business Association of Berlin-Brandenburg, pushing issues of digitization in the capital region. At the Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin he has been a lecturer in the areas of service marketing and innovation management. At the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam Tim Neugebauer advises on the establishment of an entrepreneurship- and management lab. Tim Neugebauer regularly publishes in relevant media, gives statements and interviews and also speaks at conferences and trade shows.

“The book has a very cogent and convincing flow. Its design and layout are excellent-- particularly the graphics and the very professional looking figures. … This book explains the need for a new management framework for digital business leadership. It will mostly appeal to practitioners rather than academia, because it gives ‘concrete recommendations for action to meet an increasingly digitally shaped business world.’” (C.S. Arora, Computing Reviews, December, 2018)​